![]() He wanted a more fitting American moniker. Lieutenant General Truscott selected the title “Ranger” because the title “Commando” belonged to the British. 4 Soldiers would be cycled through Commando training and return to the United States to train additional troops. Then, the combat-tested, or “blooded,” soldiers would return to their units to share their experiences. 3 The battalion would have detachments temporarily attached to British Commando units when they raided German-held countries in Europe. The original idea was that the 1st Ranger Battalion would be a temporary organization to disseminate combat experience to new American troop units. Army Forces in Northern Ireland, authorizing the activation of the 1st Ranger unit. ![]() ” 1 A cable quickly followed from the War Department to Major General Russell P. Marshall on that “we undertake immediately the organization of an American unit along Commando lines. Army liaison with the British Combined Operations Headquarters, proposed to Army Chief of Staff General George C. That quickly changed when America declared war on the Axis and entered WWII. Army did not have special operations units in 1941. ![]() Future issues of Veritas will include articles on Ranger operations in Sicily and Italy, France, and the Philippines (the 6th Ranger Battalion). The purpose of this article is to explain how the Rangers came to be in WWII, in particular those units formed in Europe and then committed to North Africa. By the end of the War, the Army fielded seven Ranger infantry battalions (the 1st through the 6th and the little known 29th) that conducted operations in North Africa, the Mediterranean, France, and the Pacific (the Philippines). At the onset of the War, the Army had no units capable of performing specialized missions. The 75th Ranger Regiment, consisting of three battalions and the regimental headquarters, evolved from the experiences of the U.S. ![]()
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